Just Like You
by kj369700
Summary: Its been a year since Lux had seen her best friend Rose. Once back in Liore Rose tells Lux about a certain alchemist and that they're two of the same. (Story better than summary I'm trash ok)
1. Chapter 1

"Ughgggg…..so hot." I groaned as the Liore heat seeped through her clothes, boiling her pale skin. I came back to Liore to see an old friend I hadn't seen since Cornello's scheme had been unraveled and the cities uprise began.

"It's the hottest its been in weeks. I don't understand how you could possibly wear a coat this time of year." a familiar voice rang from behind

"Oh, hey Rose." I said turning around with a grin on my face. "It's been a while, huh?"

Rose replied with a beaming smile. "Yeah it has." and giggled softly. We walked around the city of liore, recapping the past year we'd spent away from each other. "You know…" Rose started, looking off into the distance, at the destroyed church of Liore "I met an alchemist just like you, the one who revlied Cornello's truth…." she trailed off, stopping in her tracks to lock eyes with me, her closest friend. "He tried human transmutation and it rebound, causing him to lose his left leg and his brother lost his whole body." my eyes widened. 'Someone else tried human transmutation?' I thought, gripping my automail arm tightly. I figured others had but just hadn't lived to tell, or had passed on before my time; I didn't think anyone else would be so foolish. Given the amount of information there was on the topic.

"Is that so?" I finally spoke, meeting Rose's eyes with a smirk on her face. "Us Alchemists just don't know when to give up, do we?" The look I was giving Rose, she knew that look. I tried to hide the truth but Rose knew me well enough to know I felt pain for the fellow alchemist. She also knew what my next journey would be. Meeting Edward Elric.

It was now 9:00 pm, I stared at the ceiling fan above, watching the blades move one by one thinking of what Rose had told me earlier that day. 'I met an alchemist like you' rang in my ears over and over as if it was on repeat. 'An alchemist like me? Maybe I could find him and get some answers….' I thought to myself but soon dismissed the idea. 'I need to let go of the past, move forward and never look back.' but maybe this alchemist could help me do just that.

I woke up early the next morning and greeted Rose downstairs, sitting down at the table and admiring the food in front of me. "This looks amazing Rose!" I exclaimed with gleaming eyes. "I knew you'd love it!" Rose replied, I was too busy devouring everything on my plate to respond. We sat quietly at the table, the only noise was the sound of our chewing.

"So Rose…" I said with food still in my mouth. "About that alchemist you were talking about yesterday…" I swallowed. "What's his name?" I asked as I took another bite. "I knew you'd get curious Lux! His name is Edward Elric" she replied with an excited smile. "I think you should really meet him, he could help you cope with that happened when you were younger." she looked down, staring into her coffee mug with sadness in her eyes. I took the last sip of my coffee and set down the mug.

"You're right Rose.." I looked down at my lap and paused for a moment. "I need to let this go." I said, her voice trembling as tears formed in her eyes. "I need to move on and leave the past behind me. It's a weight I carry on my shoulders everyday, and this arm is a constant reminder of my pure arrogance." my voice grew soft. Rose stood up from the table and hugged me, the scent of coffee still lingering on her. My eyes widened and my breath stopped for a moment, I'd never been comforted before, even after the accident I didn't accept anyone's pity. Yet here I am being pitied by the only sense of family I had, and it infuriated me.

"I told you not to pity me, Rose." I snapped. Rose removed her arms from her in utter shock, I had never snapped at her before. "You're right. My mistake Lux." Rose choked out obviously hurt by the way I responded to her. She then walked away and gathered the dishes from the table to wash them in the sink. I immediately felt regret for how I treated Rose just then but still stood by what I said. "I know you're just trying to help and I appreciate it Rose. I just don't want people feeling bad over my own mistake, that's all." I said apologetically, looking up from my lap and at Rose, who met her eyes with mine, she could tell they were full of regret and replied softly with a smile. "You're just like him Lux." and then returned to washing the dirty dishes.


	2. Chapter 2

"You wanted to see me Mustang?" I asked as she walked through the door. I'd had been working under the for a year now, he'd become family to me.

"I have a new assignment for you, Lux. I want you to accompany one of our newest state alchemists, Edward Elric." "The Fullmetal Alchemist?" I raised my brow. Rose spoke of him during your last visit, but you didn't know anything about him besides what she had told you. "Correct. He'll be here later today to give me his latest report and the rest will be in your hands." he smirked. I headed towards the door as Mustang called my name "Lux." "Yes colonel?" I turned suspiciously, wondering what else he had to say. "Don't get too close to Fullmetal, he's caught up in serious business and I don't want you pulled into it." he didn't look up from his paperwork as he spoke, but I knew he was serious. "Understood sir." I said walking out the door ready to see who exactly this fullmetal kid was.

'Don't play with fire or you'll get burned' rang through my head as I thought about what Mustang said to me. 'What is this kid caught up in? He's only 15..' I thought staring at the ceiling fan. "UGHHHHHH" I groaned in frustration. I couldn't stand not knowing who or what I was getting myself into, normally I'd get a full report but Mustang didn't give me shit to go on! I was interrupted from my thoughts by my stomach growling; man was I hungry. 'Time to eat!' I decided as I made my way down to the cafeteria. "So. Much. Food!" I cried admiring the array of foods in front of me, tears of joy streamed down my face, remembering that it's all free. I was broke out of my trance by a light snicker; I turned around to see a blonde haired kid "What's so funny?" I barked. The kid smirked "You. Acting as if you've never seen a cafeteria before." he responded. I paused and thought about it for a second and laughed "You're right, it is pretty funny. My names Lux." I reached out my hand "Edward" He replied, shaking my hand. "Edward.." I whispered. "Edward Elric?" I asked "The one and only" He smirked. Talk about an ego… "Well I'll be accompanying you on your next assignment. Might as well take this opportunity to get to know each other a little." I smiled. Now I could finally get some answers…


	3. Chapter 3

**So this is my first fanfic and I'm not sure if anyone is reading it but if you are please comment! I know my writing is trash but I'm mainly writing it for myself.**

"So Edward, being the youngest state alchemist is quite impressive." I stopped poking at the food on my plate and looked up at Edward smirking and asked "Why'd you join?" Edward seemed caught off guard by my question, which only raised my curiosity more. Either no one knows the truth or no one's asked but I doubt it's the second one. There's no way in hell none of the other military personnel haven't asked this kid why he's here. "Well? Why did you join?" I asked again incase he didn't hear me the first time, which I know he did. "It's none of your business." his voice was stern. I wasn't surprised by his answer considering what Rose told me in Liore but I was curious as to what he's told the rest of the military. We looked each other dead in the eyes. I could tell he was pissed by my questioning but I'm not one to beat around the bush, so I decided to tell him all I knew about his situation.  
"I'm a friend of Rose's Edward. She told me about you and your brother, what you both did. So tell me what your goal is." He looked stunned by my blunt honesty but also seemed to respect it at the same time. He looked around the room a bit to make sure no one was in hearing distance, if the wrong person found out about him and Al they could be kicked out of the military and Edward couldn't risk it. "We're looking for a way to get our original bodies back." his voice was low but loud enough for me to hear him. 'This is going to be interesting' I thought. "Very well Edward. Count me in." I don't know why I wanted to help this kid exactly, what he was seeking seemed like a childish dream from a kid who couldn't accept loss. Yet I already wanted him to succeed.

Edward and I walked back to his room in silence. He wanted me to meet his younger brother Alphonse, who I wanted to meet anyway.

He stopped in front of room 145 and knocked and yelled "I'm coming in Al" as he swung open the door. I followed slightly behind him not wanting to intrude on Alphonse's privacy unlike Edward. "Brother! You can't bring random girls in here! At least warn me first!" Al exclaimed. "WHATTT?" Edward screamed as Alphonse cried "They grow up so fast." in the corner as he wiped his eyes with a tissue. "IT'S NOT LIKE THAT AL, SHE'S ACCOMPANYING US ON OUR NEXT MISSION!" Edward continued to scream obviously embarrassed by what Alphonse was suggesting. I watched them bicker back and forth for a few minutes before they both finally shut up long enough for me to get a word in. "Alphonse." I said calmly. "Do you really think I'D BE DESPERATE ENOUGH TO SLEEP WITH THAT MIDGET." I screamed. Before Alphonse could respond Edward erupted "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A MIDGET? WE'RE THE SAME HEIGHT!" "I'M A TEENAGE GIRL EDWARD, GUYS ARE SUPPOSED TO HIT THEIR GROWTH SPURT BY NOW." I spit back equally as loud. Edward looked as if he was about to kill me and Alphonse couldn't get enough of it, laughing harder than I'd ever heard before. After Edward and I both calmed down I properly introduced myself to Alphonse; he was a lot nicer than Edward and had actual manners. Edward and Alphonse went on to explain how their mom had died when they were younger, their training with a teacher named Izumi Curtis and their attempt at Human Transmutation.  
"I see….So you lost your leg and Alphonse lost his body, so you gave your right arm to bound his soul to a suit of armor…." I asked to make sure I understood. "Yeah, but don't worry Al we'll get your body back." Ed said knocking on Alphonse's armor. "Don't forget your body too, Brother." Alphonse replied. Their bond was like no other, it was truly incredible. "Hopefully I can get my body back too." I said tugging on my right jacket sleeve revealing my automail. "Considering I'm just like you."


	4. Chapter 4

"So you tried it too?" Edward finally spoke after minutes of silence. "Not exactly. My father was a State Alchemist, he started teaching me alchemy as soon as I was able to read and helped me comprehend his own research. I was actually pretty skilled for my age and whenever his exam would roll around he'd show the military my skills and they allowed him to keep his state certification. He pushed me to learn as much as possible to make sure he passed every year. It was something my father and I bonded over, we'd always been close, but alchemy brought us closer. That is….until my mother died." I looked down at my automail arm, not sure if I was ready to tell Edward and Alphonse my secret. I hadn't known them that long and I didn't really know if I could trust them.  
The only person who knew of my past was Roy, and I wasn't fully comfortable with him knowing despite him being the closest thing to family I had. "Was your mom the person you tried to bring back?" I was pulled out of my thoughts by Edwards question. I guess since they trusted me enough to tell me their past, I should tell them mine. "I didn't try and bring her back. My father did." I looked up at Edward and Alphonse, both having their eyes glued on me waiting for me to continue. Edward looked confused and I can imagine if Alphonse could, he'd look the same way. I took a deep breath and continued to explain the situation. "My mother passed away a few months before my fathers yearly certification exam. He spent a lot of time studying human transmutation and decided to attempt it for his exam. Instead of teaching me as he usually did he kept this to himself and told me he'd involve me when the time was right. I had no idea human alchemy existed until the day of the transmutation. I thought we were just doing a regular transmutation when I agreed to help him. It wasn't until the rebound process started that I knew something was wrong.." I felt myself start to tear up, I didn't want to cry in front of them so I stopped for a few seconds, looked down at my lap cutting eye contact and tried to contain myself before I started talking again. Edward and Alphonse knew this was hard to talk about so they didn't nag me to continue.  
Before I could continue I heard a loud bang on the table. I looked up to see Edward standing, his fist on table and anger in his eyes. "That bastard…." He hissed. "Using his DAUGHTER FOR EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE!" He was yelling at this point, furious at my father's actions. "Brother, calm down!" Alphonse said trying to get his older brother to sit back down so I could continue. Once Edward calmed down and I felt the urge to cry subside, I finished the rest of my story. "I remember seeing small, black arm-like things pick apart my father. He kept yelling at me to run until he disappeared completely. I remember then going through an abyss of information, I guess you could call it a portal of some-sort. I don't remember much of what I was looking at but I do remember it being painful. Almost as if someone/something was jamming all the information of the universe and alchemy into my head." I trailed off. Edward looked intrigued, digesting every word I said. He was probably comparing my version to theirs. "So you remember going through the portal. Can you do alchemy without a transmutation circle?" Edward asked. "Yeah. I realized I didn't need one a few months after the incident. Do you think that's what I learned in the portal?" I asked Edward. I hadn't really thought about it before but it makes sense. I had to of consumed some information, even if I didn't remember exactly what it was. "I'm not positive but it seems that we both learned how to perform alchemy without a circle due to seeing the truth." Edward seemed confident in his theory but it lacked actual evidence, so he couldn't say it as truth. "Well anyway, I ended up having my arm taken as a toll for seeing the truth….. and I never saw my father again." I said quietly.  
There was a lingering silence in the air. Both Edward and Alphonse were processing all the information I flooded them with. "Brother, do you think there's a chance..?" Alphonse whispered to Edward. "Possibly but there isn't a way to be sure." He whispered back. Whispering about me, in front of me, without including me in the conversation was really rude. I was just about to comment on it until Edward asked me a question. "Lux...When returning from the portal did you see your father's body?" He seemed to be on to something by the way he asked me, and I was curious to see what he'd come up with. "No, I didn't. It was like he was never even there." I replied. "Then there's a chance you could get him back." Edward said. This caught me off guard. My father coming back? Haven't they learned you can't create something out of nothing? "How?" I questioned. My eyes were glued to Edward's, anxiously waiting for his response. "If you didn't see his body once you left the portal, there's a chance his body and soul are at the gate." I stared at Edward in disbelief, unable to think of the words needed to express how I feel. "However, I can't vouch for his health, or if he's even alive still." Now I was the one digesting information, I couldn't put together how it was even scientifically possible for him to be alive.  
"Explain your reasoning!" I begged Edward. He let out a long sigh and started explaining. "Since I bonded Alphonse's soul to this suit of armor with a blood seal made from my blood, it connected our souls somewhere along the way. I sleep and eat for both Al's and I's bodies, which explains why I also grow at a slower rate. Since you and your father aren't connected the same way, it might not be possible that he's alive. It was just a thought I had." Edward explained. I was too shocked for words, my stomach fell to my ass, I felt like I was going to vomit. "I need to go lay down." I said as I stood up and walked towards the door. "Lux.." Edward spoke up before I walked out the door "Get some rest because the train leaves at 7am tomorrow..and I'm sorry." I nodded and shut the door, heading towards my room.


End file.
